The establishment of the Time Travelers Alliance began in the first year of Conan

Chapter 236 "The Real Culprit," an Ironic Name
In the lull between the rest of their own forces taking action, after Kogoro Mouri revealed that the real culprit was someone else entirely.

The air immediately became oppressive and difficult to breathe.

A somber atmosphere, an atmosphere of "deduction," began to permeate the small medical room.

Several lamps hanging from the beams swayed from side to side without any wind, emitting a faint white light that suddenly took on a deathly pallor.

Those rays of light actually lingered on everyone's faces, causing their pupils to contract and their bodies to tense.

It's all because the detective named Conan Edogawa is "searching" for the real culprit.

Even Heiji Hattori and Inspector Megure's expressions became more serious. The light of thought in one of their eyes shone brighter, and the police badge on the other's chest, which read "Superintendent," became more conspicuous.

Their "personas" are trying to become more and more "shining," in an attempt to evade the crown of being the "real culprit."

Those background characters—

Soldiers belonging to the GSSRA, police officers belonging to the police system, Imogen, the liaison officer, Kohei Nakayama, the person who reported the crime, and even Tatsuya Iwata, the deceased...

It is the body of the deceased, whose remaining form in the world becomes even more swollen and pale.

The person who reported the incident, while tidying up the deceased's body, tightly gripped the fishing net that had just been torn down.

It belongs to a police officer, a soldier, an inanimate object, or a living thing...

Those who are "non-criminals" become even more distinctive, eagerly presenting, in great detail, evidence that they are not criminals and that they have no motives whatsoever to the detective who will declare the real culprit.

Therefore, Kogoro Mouri's words sent the poison needles of fear and terror down his throat, into his stomach, and deep into his chest, causing the murderer's greedy heart to beat violently.

Faced with the entire universe, Kogoro Mouri declared his conclusion:

"Inspector Megure, the real culprit who murdered Iwata Tatsuya is Mr. Oi Kento."

In an instant, Kento Ooi felt that the space around him had become filled with malice, and even the air around him began to avoid him.

His gaze swept around warily, and then fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

What terrible malice!
Kento Oi saw—

The two GSSRA soldiers looked at him with a strange longing in their eyes, their hands already on the triggers of their guns, the safety already quietly released.

The "justice" burning in the eyes of those police officers, officers, and even the detective standing to the side grew ever brighter.

But is that really a pursuit of "justice"?
Or is it that they subconsciously yearn to end the case immediately and clear themselves of suspicion?
Even more surprisingly, a strong gust of wind suddenly blew outside the infirmary, followed by a loud "thud" as something fell, and everyone in the infirmary heard shouts from several guards.

"Immediately send someone to use a crane to lift the container, and have the engineers come and clear the debris from the corridor!"

Clearly, even escaping has become a pipe dream now.

When this strange atmosphere became intense enough, a strange courage rose within Kento Ooi. The lights chased away the shadows and enveloped him, tinging his face and figure with a touch of black.

"How could it be me?!"

His acting skills improved dramatically in an instant, just like a fisherman who had been truly wronged.

The genuine expression on his face made Inspector Megure and the other officers look at the bent-over figure with some confusion—that's how it should be.

However, no one is paying any attention to Kento Oi's "performance" right now.

Kento Ooi's trembling pupils reflected the puppet-like figures around him.

The gazes they cast upon themselves were "painted" onto those moving faces by some force.

Those eyes and expressions all had only one meaning—

"Please confess your guilt."

The shadow around Kento Ooi grew even darker, and he gritted his teeth as if he were about to unleash all his power.

Finally, under immense pressure, he was able to utter his second sentence.

"What evidence do you have? I had neither the time nor the motive to kill Iwata!"

The malice surging in the medical room suddenly stopped, and the logic of "reasoning" along with the "case" immediately brought the inexplicably deviating science back "on track".

A detective needs evidence to solve a case.
The "real culprit" must also be tried by the "law," not by "lynching."

The league's efforts were not in vain.

In the void, the pale sun, composed of the brilliant splendor of "reasoning," flickered for a moment.

In the pursuit of this "case" involving Conan Edogawa, upon reaching the "child," they suddenly discover that He is still the same giant.

The "case" is like a snowball; it originally wanted to grow huge and unstoppable through its rolling, but the closer it gets to the "detective," the smaller it becomes. — [Conan Edogawa's] "character design" has become solid again.

Leaning against the bedside, Kogoro Mouri chuckled twice, his voice filled with certainty.

"Yes, if we start counting from when the gunshot rang out, you really didn't have time to commit the crime."

"But what if Mr. Nakayama didn't actually hear gunshots? What if Mr. Iwata was killed by the murderer before the gunshots even rang out, or what if there was no argument at all?"

"Mr. Mori, are you saying that the gunshot was faked?"

Imogen wisely displayed his "doubt," prompting Conan Edogawa, who had been waiting patiently, to snap his fingers instinctively.

“That’s right.” Kogoro Mouri’s voice held a hint of delight as he explained, “Because the killer wanted us to calculate the time of his attack based on the gunshots—”

"Mr. Oi met Mr. Akimoto halfway to the stern of the boat, and this happened only a few seconds after the gunshot."

"The search boat is about five or six meters long, which is exactly the time it would take for the murderer to move away from the victim's location. Based on the locations of Akimoto Kazuta, Ooi Kento, and Nakayama Kohei, the only person who could have committed the crime is Mr. Akimoto."

"And that's why I initially mistakenly thought Mr. Akimoto was the perpetrator."

Kogoro Mouri paused for a moment, giving everyone some time to understand his words, before continuing.

“Whether it’s the scratches on Mr. Iwata’s diving suit, the broken valve on the oxygen cylinder, or the mark on his forehead from being hit by a heavy object, it seems that the murderer and the victim did indeed have a fierce struggle at the time.”

"But—!" Kogoro Mouri's voice rose sharply, "the murderer overlooked a fatal flaw!"

"If the victim died quickly due to lack of oxygen and violent struggle, his fight with the murderer would inevitably have left some marks on the other person as well."

Inspector Megure glanced at the officer beside him, who immediately looked down at the photos in his hand. Then, he shouted and simultaneously displayed the three photos to everyone—

"Apart from Mr. Iwata, there were no signs of a struggle on the diving suits that anyone else had changed out of!"

"That doesn't prove anything!" Kento Ooi retorted stubbornly. "What if it was a sneak attack?"

Clearly, he had lost his composure.

Hattori Heiji, who was standing nearby, immediately pointed out his logical error: "If it was a sneak attack, it should have been a fatal blow, right?"

Inspector Megure nodded in agreement. "In that case, unless the killer has a habit of mutilating corpses, the wounds on the victim's diving suit don't make sense."

"That's it!" Kento Ooi's eyes lit up. "It must be that guy Kazuta. He's been acting really strange ever since he went to that island!"

"He was always fiddling with those specimens and doing strange experiments, and he frequently went to the cemetery, always acting suspiciously!"

"Sine! Sage! You bastard—!"

Akimoto Kazuta's voice was filled with barely suppressed anger, and a hint of hidden fear.

"And I already knew! He'd been trying to buy from a corpse dealer—"

Even the two police officers behind Akimoto and Tai couldn't hold him back now.

Even with his hands still cuffed behind his back, he suddenly rushed to Kento Oi's side and kicked him in the throat. If the kick had landed, Kento Oi would have been unable to utter a single word for the rest of his life.

At this moment, Imogen finally demonstrated his qualities as a GSSRA soldier.

He immediately drew his pistol from his waist, aimed, and fired. With a loud "bang," the ankle supporting Akimoto Kazuta was severed by the bullet.

The figure that was about to kick Kento Oi's throat in mid-air swerved, and a look of fear flashed in Kento Oi's eyes. He staggered back a step, narrowly avoiding the attack.

Imogen waved his hand, signaling a soldier to take Akimoto and Tai away. "Did you hear what he just said? Give him a quick bandage and then interrogate him."

“Take, for example, the island he mentioned, the trafficking of corpses, and the experiments.” Imogen felt he also had some potential to become a detective, and he spoke using the logic of Mr. Mori’s reasoning.

“These are not things a normal fisherman should do.”

After saying that, he looked at Kogoro Mouri, who was still sitting next to the morgue, and a look of admiration flashed in his eyes.

The direction in which I just raised my gun was directly facing him.

In such a confined space, there was no way to avoid either Akimoto and Tai's sudden outburst or his own action of drawing and firing a gun—

This man's courage and boldness are simply terrifying!
Imogen glanced at Hattori Heiji, whose expression was somewhat serious, out of the corner of his eye, and thought to himself:
"This guy named Hattori Heiji is just as lucky as the boss said. He just casually invited an advisor, and he actually has such abilities..."

Having raised his expectations for Hattori Heiji and Mori Kogoro a little higher, Imogen coughed lightly, his voice carrying a hint of inquiry and curiosity.

"Mr. Mori, could you please explain how the suspect managed to do this?"

(End of this chapter)